The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1887-04-01


| JESS
always does toward sunset Indeed, all tina
remained of it were few strictly local an
| miniature whirlwinds, which would suddenl
| spring up Oh the road itself, and twist an
| twirl fiercely round, raising a mighty column
Of dust fifty feet or more into the air, wher
| it hung long after the cause of it passed, ant
| then slowly dissolved as its particles floate,
| to the earth.
Coming along the road, in the immediate
track of one of these desultory and inexplic
able whirlwinds, was a man on horseback
The man looked limp and dirty, and th,
horse limper and dirticr The hot wind hat
taken all the bones out of them, as the kafIiri
say, which was not very much to be wondered
at, seeing that they had been iourneying
through it for the last four hours, without
off saddling. Suddenly the whirlwind, which
had been travelling along pretty smartly
halted, and the dust, after turning round a
few times in the air like dying top, slowly
began to dissolve in the accustomed fashion.
Tho man on the horse halted, too, and con-
tempated it in an absent kind of way.
ITS just like mans life" he said aloud to
his horse, coming from nobody knows where,
nobody knows why, and making a little
column of dust on the worlds highway, and
then passing away and leaving the dust to
fall to the ground again, and be trodden
under foot and forgotten"
The speaker, stout, well setup, herugly
man, apparently OH the wrong side of so, with
pleasant blue eyes and a reddish, peaked
beard, laughed little at his own sententious
reflection, and then gave his jaded horse a
tap with the sjambock in his hand.
Come on, BlesboE, he said, 'or we shall
never get to old Croft's place tonight. By
Jove! | believe tho must be the turn"
and he pointed with his whip to a little rutty
track that turned from the Wakkerstroom
main road and stretched away toward a
curious, isolated hill with large flat top, that
rose out of the rolling plain some four miles
to the right "The old Boer said the second
turn he went on, still talking to himself,
"but perhaps he lied. l am told that
some of them think it good joke to send
an Englishman a few miles wrong. Let's
see, they said the place was under the lee of a
table topped hill, about half an hours ride
from the main road, and that is table
topped hill, SO think Will try it. Come on,
Blcsbok," and he put the tired nag into
a sort Of "tripplc," or ambling canter, much
affectedby South African horses.
"Iifo is queer thing" reflected Capt
John Mel to himself as he slowly cantered
along "Now here am /, at the age of
81, about to begin the world again as
assistant to an old Transvaal farmer. 1t is
pretty end to all ones ambitions, and to four
teen years work in the army; but it is what
1T has to como to- my boy, SO you had better
make the best of it,
Just then his cogitations were interrupted,
for on tho farther side Of q gentle slope there
suddenly appeared an extraordinary sight.
Over the crest of the Iis, of land, now some
four or five hundred yards away, a pony with
a lady on its bac!, came wildly galloping,
and after it, with wings spread and cut
neck, huge cock ostrich was
speeding along, covering twelve or fifteen
feet at every stride OF its long legs The pony
was still twenty yards ahead of the bird, and
coming toward John rapidly, but strive as it
would it could not distance the swiftest thing
on all the Garth Five seconds passed; the
great bird was close alongside now. All!
end John Mel turned sick and shut his eyes
as he rode, for he saw the ostrich's thick leg
by high into the air and then sweep down
like Il loaded bludgcon.
Thud! it had missed the lady and struck |
her horse upon thc spine, behind the saddle, |
for the moment completely paralyzing it, so |
hat it fell all of heap OH to tho veldt In a |
moment the girl on its back was UP and off |
.oward him, and after her came the ostrich |
Up went the great leg again. but before il |
anne crashing OIL to her shoulders she had |
lung herself face downward on the grass |
N an instant tho huge bird was OH top of |
her, kicking at her, rolling over her and |
rushing the very life out of her. 1t was at |
his juncturo that John Mel arrived upon tho
Gene. Tho moment the ostrich saw him lie |
.avo mp his attacks upon the lady OH the
,round and began to waltz toward him with
pompons sort of step that these birds some
lines assume before they give battle. Now,
apt Mel was unaccuStometl to the ways OF |
strlches, and so was lis horse. which showed
strong inclination to bolt as, indeed, under
cher circumstances, his rider would have
cen glad TO do himself. But he could not
bandon beauty in distress, So, finding it i'm
osaible to control his hois,, he slipped of it.
nj with his sjaribock or hide whip. iii his |
and, valiantly faced the enemy. For n mo-
ient o. two the great bird stood still, blink
- its lustrOus eyes at Kim AMI
emily swaying its graceful neck To and
o. Then all of a sudden il spread oct
5 wings ami cams Cor him like
ti,underho!t. He sprang TO one side, and
aware OIL ~ fIssft tG li.-psfh, |
nd OF Il vision of thick leg striking dowa-
ard past his bead Fortunately Is missed
i'm and the ostric., sped pas Ike a lash.
efore no could turn, however. il was baSk
al had landed the full weight Of one OF lis
xful forward kicks in the broad of liz |
lex, ard away lac went bead over heels like
shot rabbit. III n second he was on his legs
Jain, shaken, indeed. lait not arch the
ogse and perfectly mad with fury and pain.
{ him came the ostrich. AMI at the ostrich
emf Ike. catching it q blow across the slim
'cis with his sjanibock that staggered it fcr
rrofitins by the check, he seized
Q bird by the wing and held on li1e grim
atiI WITH both hands. Th-;i they began 90
rate slowly at frs. then quicker. and yet
ore quick. til nt last t. sces.lsd e. Capt
In Mel tIat tinse AMI space and The soiil
r;lI were nothing bus revolving vision
ed somewhere ia tho watches Of tie night.
Ioye him. Ike i stationary pivot. lowered ! I
: tall, graceful nerk, beneath him sl'un the
, like legS. and il frslit Of him was soft
Ick and white mass OF fs2.-hcTs.